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Rich Abend
Expert in Strategic Growth and Revenue Generation in Tech and Sports
Rich Abend is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the sports, technology, and wellness industries. He served as the Chief Revenue Officer & Head of Risk Products at Players Health from October 2021 to December 2022.1 Players Health is a risk services and insurance platform that protects athletes and sports organizations with a comprehensive risk management platform.1
Career Highlights
Current Roles::
- Strategic Growth Advisor at underdog venture team (since October 2022)
- Revenue/Sales Strategy and Operations Advisor at iSportz (since March 2023)
- Member of the Board at Action for Healthy Kids (since November 2014)
Previous Positions::
- President Athlete Safety at Players Health (August 2021 - December 2022)
- Co-Founder and CEO of Famer (June 2019 - April 2021)
- SVP, Global Partnerships at Tough Mudder Inc (August 2017 - June 2019)
- Co-Founder/CEO of Spotlight Partners, Inc. (May 2015 - June 2018)
- Managing Director at Scout Wellness/Horizon Media (April 2013 - June 2016)
- Various roles at The Active Network (2006 - 2013)
Education
Rich Abend holds a degree in Marketing from the University of Miami, which he attended from 1989 to 1993.1
Expertise and Focus
Rich has deep experience in leading teams, building brands, and driving revenue in the technology, sports, and wellness industries.1 His career has focused on strategic growth, revenue generation, and developing partnerships in these sectors. He has been involved in various startups and has a strong background in sports management, wellness initiatives, and digital platforms.
Currently, Rich is involved with underdog venture team, which is described as a collection of next-generation brand builders. Their mission is to help build and grow brands while changing the face, value proposition, and perspective of the sports, health, media, and lifestyle industries.1
Rich Abend's diverse experience and leadership roles in sports technology, wellness, and risk management make him a notable figure in these industries.
Highlights
We're excited to announce that our partner National Basketball League (NBL) struck a game changing strategic business partnership with Kenny "The Jet" Smith to be the head of The Next Stars player initiatives. Next Stars is the premier pathway to the NBA with 5 projected NBA draft picks this June including Alexandre Sarr, who is projected to go in the top 3.
Kenny will actively recruit, develop and mentor new Next Star players, with the NBL. He's the perfect partner because he has been passionate about and involved in amateur basketball his entire career in addition to being a NBA champion and prominent broadcaster.
This is the first of many new exciting NBL/Next Stars announcements we'll have coming over the next few months.
Congrats to the NBL team Vince Crivelli Nikola Milivojevic
Big thanks for the partnership, Maury Gostfrand and team.
https://lnkd.in/eD92FFxj #underdogventureteam #nblnextstars #nbadraft
